Pizzas Go Undelivered

Heading into action Tuesday night, a grand total of zero defencemen had hit the 100 career point plateau.  Bobby Sacre was sitting just a single point back of that milestone.  He did fuck all on his first shift, barely even noticeable out there, so he changed, and maybe he had been doing something after all because as soon as he was off the ice, Greg Delano’s wrister went bar down to give the Greyhounds the lead.

 

Bobby got a second shift, despite protests that he’d be better suited to a bench role, and on his second shift he rushed up the middle of the ice to go for a loose puck and he won the 50/50 battle, poking the puck loose.  Matt Ryder collected it and went the rest of the way up ice, dekeing the goalie hard and sliding the puck into the empty net.  Bobby Sacre, the first defenceman in Nomad Hockey League history to record 100 points. 

 

Bobby got greedy, he wanted to start the journey to 200 points and he pinched, not realizing that the point he vacated would remain empty.  When Nick Roache poked the puck off his stick, it was game over.  Connor MacPherson saw Greg Delano at the red line and sprung him on a breakaway.  His shot went where his first did as the Greyhounds were up 2-1 pretty early.  But everyone knows that Matt Ryder doesn’t usually show up until the second period.  This would be one of those nights where he showed up early.

 

Sacre may have failed at point 101 and had it cost his team a goal, but he would make up for that transgression and then some.  Chris Ryder sent a D to D pass through the legs of Matt Ryder, and Bobby saw the lane to the net open up.  He took it.  He skated right down to the net and shot it bar down, the sound echoing loudly into the other rinks.  The game was tied.  On the same shift, Greg Delano nearly took the lead back but Nick Stryniak fought off the shot with his trapper, sending the puck over the net.

 

The Aurora were holding the play in the Greyhounds zone, and the one time it went in the Aurora zone, Chris Ryder picked it up and sends David Lacey away.  He rung a shot off the bar.  The puck ended up back in the Aurora zone with Chris Ryder skating hard to beat Mat McLeod and as he did, he sent the puck to brother Matt and took an epic fall.  Matt went all the way, dekeing about 11 Greyhounds and finally the goalie, but instead of shooting, he sent the pass back door to Bobby Sacre, just lurking around the net for the easy tap in.  We’re going to need to put an asterisk beside the “only defenceman* to reach 100” with him looking like a forward out there.

 

Kyle Gouthro was looking pretty good for the Greyhounds.  You’d never know that he was wearing his dad’s skates, which are 2 sizes too big.  He was probably glad he didn’t tuck a couple because he’d probably want to keep wearing those antiques if he did.

 

In the dying seconds of the first, Matt Ryder was at it again.  For a brief moment it looked like he may try the Michigan behind the net, but instead he found Bobby pinching into the slot and his one timer gave him the natural hat trick.  One period done, the Aurora were up 4-2 and outshooting the Greyhounds 16-6, Sacre and Matt a Ryder in on all 4 goals.

 

The second period was more of the same, Matt scoring 17 seconds in, with Bobby the only assist.  The Greyhounds then got one of the strangest goals as Brock Bethune drove the net.  Aurora defender Dave Matthews put his stick behind the pads of Stryniak as a precaution, but the puck remained between the pads and about 2 feet from the goal line, but it was called a goal to everyone’s surprise, even Brock’s.  While this rightfully angered Stryniak who made the save, it wouldn’t ultimately impact the outcome of the game.

 

Despite the score, Sam Kamerson in the Greyhounds goal was making some big plays, including a fun favourite toe save on David Lacey at the side of the goal.  Nick Stryniak made a huge save on Noah Joncas in front a minute later as the goalies traded moments in the spotlight.

 

Matt Ryder wasn’t done, he finished off his own hat trick with about 8 minutes left in the game, and who passed him the puck? Bobby Sacre.

 

Connor MacPherson gave his team some life when he got a piece of a pass from Mat McLeod and the puck waffled through the air past the goalie and into the net.  Connor forgot his jersey and socks and was looking like a call-up out there all night.

 

Matt Ryder then goes and gets another one, with Sacre setting him up, but the Greyhounds kept in the game, Bryan Gillis went end to end and roofed a shot as he fell with 2:34 left.  The Greyhounds looked up and thought “gee, those Aurora players could really use some more points” and they pulled their goalie.  They had a chance but Stryniak made the save and while getting hooked, Sacre cleared tone puck to the corner where Matt Ryder got it and fed Josh Beaudreau.  Josh his the empty net and Matt Ryder ended up with 8 points apiece.

 

When asked about it after the game, Bobby Sacre’s expression said “I just tried to imagine Matt wearing a grey jersey and the passes just all connected”.  The big points night brings Matt within a single point of league leader Landon Miron who has 45, and it brings Bobby up to a career high of 31 points, 11 of which are goals, a number that is 1 more than his previous season high, and he still has some games left to play.